Trails · 517 m above the sea
Monte Palace Tropical Garden
Azulejo tile panels, koi ponds and a volcanic-rock garden on a former quinta
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The place
Businessman José Berardo bought this hillside estate in 1987 and opened it to the public in 1991, filling it with Chinese and Japanese garden sections, a lake with peacocks and koi, a rock garden built from volcanic stone, and a museum wing pairing Zimbabwean stone sculpture with centuries of Portuguese azulejo tile panels. It's a slower, denser counterpart to the Botanical Garden across the valley — worth the separate entrance fee if you have a couple of hours to wander.
When to come
Weekday mornings, outside peak cruise-ship season
Worth knowing
- €18 adults, free for children up to 14
- April-Sept 9:00-19:00, Oct-March 9:00-18:00, closed Dec 25
- Entrances at Caminho das Babosas (next to the cable car) or via Belvedere
- Reachable by cable car, buses 20/21/22/48, or taxi